A young woman who plunged ten metres from a balcony as she waved goodbye to her friend had to be cut out of her friend's car after he drove her to the hospital.

The 26-year-old woman suffered serious back injuries after plummeting from the second story balcony of her Lidcombe apartment, in Sydney's Inner west, as she hung over the railing waving to a friend at about 10pm on Wednesday.

The woman's friend saw her fall and piled her into his car before rushing her to Auburn Hospital's emergency department.

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A young woman, 26, who plunged ten metres from a balcony as she exuberantly waved goodbye to her friend had to be cut out of her friend's car after he drove her to the hospital

But when doctors came outside to assess her injuries, they realised she could not be removed safely from the car and was at risk of being paralysed if she moved.

They contacted the Fire and Rescue New South Wales who sent a crew to cut her out of her friend's car so a spinal board could be put in to remove her.